(BEIJING, August 22) -- The flame for the Beijing Paralympic Games will be lit on August 28 at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, as announced here in Beijing on Friday, August 22.

The nine-day Paralympic torch relay will be held from August 29 until the start of the 13th Paralympic Games, Jiang Xiaoyu, executive vice-president of BOCOG, said at a press conference.

To meet the requirements of hosting equally splendid Olympic and Paralympic Games, Jiang said, the unique torch relay for the Paralympics will display the spirit of self-reliance, spread knowledge of the Paralympic Games, and raise awareness of people with disabilities.

Under the theme of "Transcendence, Integration and Equality," a total of 850 torchbearers will go on a journey of over 13,000km through an eleven-city route that has been designed to include areas that represent the modernity and ancient timelessness of China.

Temple of Heaven - the torch lighting

The lighting ceremony of the Beijing Paralympic torch relay will take place at the Temple of Heaven at 10:30 a.m., August 28, 2008. The optical focus of a concave mirror will be used to light the Paralympic flame.

The Temple of Heaven is where ancient Chinese offered sacrifices to heaven. The lighting ceremony is in line with the Chinese concept of "integrity of man and heaven" and embodies a pursuit of "harmony between man and nature." It is also in conformity with the emblem of the Beijing Paralympics, which features "sky, earth and human beings."

Two simultaneous routes

Two separate relay routes will begin in Beijing and will meet again on September 5 to continue the flame's tour of the capital before the lighting of the main cauldron at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, on September 6.

The "Ancient China" route covers the historic cities of Xi'an, Hohhot, Changsha, Nanjing and Luoyang and showcases the long history of Chinese civilization and the beautiful panorama of the host country. The "Modern China" route passes through Shenzhen, Wuhan, Shanghai, Qingdao and Dalian and highlights China's post reform and opening-up achievements.

Each leg of the Paralympic relay will be similar to that of the Olympic torch relay. There will be an opening and closing ceremony in each city, and each torchbearer will run 50 meters. Sixty torchbearers will run a total of three kilometers in one-and-a-half hours in each city. As Beijing is the host city, the relay distance and time as well as the number of the torchbearers will be more than those of other cities.

"Sky, Earth, Human Beings" - torch relay symbols

The emblem of the torch relay follows that of the Paralympic Games - "Sky, Earth and Human Beings." The Paralympic torch relay has adopted the pattern, style and design of the Beijing Olympic torch relay, but the Paralympic torch, torch lamp, cauldron, torchbearers' and escort runners' uniforms will use the emblem of the Beijing Paralympic torch relay.

Quality torchbearers selected

People with disabilities will account for about 20 percent of the 850 torchbearers who have been selected by the relay cities, the China Disabled Persons' Federation, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), and Paralympic sponsors. Most of the selecting bodies have already completed their selection work.

These torchbearers include former medalists of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, other disabled athletes, Chinese nationals devoted to the care and support of people with disabilities, Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games volunteers, and representative members from organizations that support people with disabilities.

Timely information on Olympic website

The organizers will release official information including text, pictures, television, and audio signals for the Paralympic relay. All of these services are provided to the international media free of charge. Every day the official signal producing team will produce a minimum of five minutes of video content, ten pictures, five minutes of audio content and a press release in both Chinese and English. The official television signal will also be released via the global satellite network.

The torch relay's official website will be open for those who would like to obtain more information about the relay. The official pictures, audio content and press content, as well as TV signal forms will also be issued by the website. The website guarantees a timely release of information about torch relay arrangements.